Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-10-17
BACON OR SHAKESPEARE!
The Question First Eaised IN 1852 by the
Writer of b Acon's Life.
Chicago Times.

The Question First Raised IN 1862 py the
Writer of b acon's Life.
Chicago Times.
The theory that Francis Bacon was the
man behind the scenes is not new one,
although it has taken long to force its way
to the front, especially in Will Shake
speare's own country.
DR.. Thompson of Melbourne points out
that the first to raise the question was
Horace Walpole in his His .oric Doubts.
Mr.. SPEEDING, the writer OF Bacon's
life, as early as February, 1852, printed a
paper - "Who Wrote Shskespeare's
Henry VIII ?'"-tracing signs of two
hands in the play. He was followed by
an anonymous writer in Chambers
Edinburgh journal, who for the first
time discussed the question, "Who Wrote
Shakespeare" and arrived st the con-
clusion that William Shakespeare kept
q poet. Neither of these writers sug-
gested any claimant for the honors in
Shakespeare's place.
It was reserved for lady, an American
lady, Miss Della Bacon, four years later,
to first PROFOUND the theory in paper
published in Putnam's Magazine in Amer
lea in 1856, that Lord Bacon, her name
sake by coincidence, Was the Shakespeare
wanted. Men stood aghast and sneered
at her in her own country. She came to
England to find all men and women
arrayed against her. She woman
fully adhered to aud preached the
belief which had taken possession Of
her. Some few people were convinced,
but her book fell dead. She returned to
ha. nd aftpruar 6 died
disappointed and broken hearted. Her
but is SO mystical, obscure and illusiVe
that few people have ever managed to
read it thoroughly.
In September, 1856, an Englihman, Dir.
William q. Smith, who had not heard OF
Miss Delis Bacon, appeared on the field
with bis pamphlet, "Was Lord Bacon the
Author of Shakespesre's Plays?" q
letter to Lord Ellesmore, in which the
Baconian theory was plainly laid down
and maintained, and the next year pub
Iished book on the subject. This book
made convert of Lord Palmerston.
In 1862 Judge Holmes, then residing in
St. Louis. in his book, 1.-THE Authorship
OF Shakespeare" first pointed out in
print NUMBER of condolences or identi
ties of thought and language between the
two writer's, Bacon and Shakespeare, and
expressed his clear opinion that Shakes
pesre, as drametist, could have been
none other than Bacon in disguise.
In 1880 DR.. Thompson of Melbourne, in
his "The Renaissance Drama; or History
Visible" presented an accumulation OF
fact and argument in favor Of the Bacon
ian theory.
In 1881 Mr.. Appleton Morgan, 8 lswyer,
published at Cincinnati book, "The
Shakesperean MYTH" in which he stated
the strong circumstantial evidence
against the Shakesperesn authorship Of
the play. His theory was that they were
the work of Lord Bacon, Sir Walter
Raleigh and skshers.
The latest OBLIGATIONS on the subject
have been by Mrs. Henry Pott. The idea
of the Baconian authorship of the plays
of Shakespeare presented itself to her
mind independently about twenty years
ago. The belief came to her from the CO.
incidence of her equsl taste for both the
great authors, Bacon and Shakespeare,
and the fact that the more she read them
the more the identities of the authors
minds and ideas protruded themselves
from their writings and impressed them
selves on her mind.
Latterly the subject has been extens-
lively discussed. Up to April, 1884, no
less than 255 books, pamphlets and arti-
cles had been published On the subject,
of which 20 were English, 161 American,
10 Australian, 4 Scotch, 8 Canadian, 2
German, 2 French, l Indian, l italian,
and l Dutch. This list will soon be
augmented in the publication of
"The Great Cryptogram," by Ignatius
Donnelly, who is recognized to-day as
the most eminent of the Baconians, snd
who makes the startling announcement
that he has discovered in the plays them
selves, in the first collected edition Of
them, the folio of 1923, q curiously en-
folded cipher narrative which he claims
will forever settle the controversy.